At your service

A desire to offer some form of guarantee had been high on the agenda from the very early days of the Association's formation, but it took quite a while to arrive at a scheme that covered all members. The reasons for this delay were various.

The concept started to become a reality in 1908 when the London branch began to guarantee the work its members were carrying out for the Corporation of London. This led to the Guarantee of Work scheme in 1912, which provided the reassurance to customers that any defective work by an ECA member would be put right at no extra charge.

However, there were still obstacles to be overcome in taking this guarantee forward, mainly due to objections from the Board of Trade. The Board pointed out that the scheme was not designed to raise standards across the whole industry – only among ECA members. This promotion of members was seen as being outside of the rules governing the Association's incorporation in 1904, so it was not until the restructuring of 1916, which brought a new constitution, that the way was clear to promote the guarantee vigorously.

Even so, it was 1947 before the Guarantee of Work scheme came into being as a general indemnity to customers. Under this indemnity, if any work by an ECA member was of a lower standard than specified in the IEE regulations, the customer could appeal to the Association to appoint a senior engineer to carry out a full inspection of the installation. This scheme remains in force today in the form of the ECA Warranty.

In its own right, the Warranty has been instrumental in generating considerably more work for ECA members and this was strengthened even further by the introduction of the Guarantee of Completion, now known as the ECA Bond, in 1976. This ensures that, if the contractor defaults, the work will be completed at the cost of the insurer.

Adding even more to the integrity of its members, the Association established an independent quality assurance scheme in 1987. Known as EQUAL, it was funded by the ECA and the Department of Trade and Industry. In 1989 EQUAL joined forces with the Building Engineering Services Certification Authority to form Construction Quality Assurance Ltd.

Safety first
The reassurance to customers that work would be carried out to the required standards was as much related to the safety of the installation as it was to its performance. Consequently, the peace of mind that came from a guarantee of quality was another powerful weapon in the promotion of ECA members.

In the early days of electricity, when understanding of this new phenomenon was very low, there were a number of unfounded fears that played on peoples' minds. A common concern was that the electricity would leak out of a socket if it was not switched off – reflecting the users' greater familiarity with gas. The high number of fires caused by faulty wiring in the early 1900s, however, did give substance to the general concerns of safety.

The responsibility for electrical safety clearly lay with the installer, so the ECA made this one of its priorities from the outset. This concern led to a system of registration in 1906, initially administered at a local level. By 1923 a national scheme was in force and this led to the formation of the National Register of Electrical Installation Contractors (NREIC), a scheme that was doomed to failure. At the root of this failure was the way in which ECA members felt they were disadvantaged by the existence of the NREIC.

These and other areas of dissatisfaction led to the withdrawal of ECA members from the NREIC in 1946. Now only representing a minority of the industry, the NREIC lost credibility.

After several years of discussions, another voluntary scheme was hatched in 1956, in the form of the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC).

Building on the benefits
There are many facets to the range of services that the ECA offers to its members. As well as the activities that offer reassurance to customers and providing a voice for the industry at government level, the Association has been able to offer more tangible benefits right from the outset.

In 1905 it was agreed that ECA members would only buy cable from members of the Cable Makers Association (CMA), in return for substantial discounts. As the demand for cable grew, it wasn't long before members could save more on cable than the cost of their ECA subscription.

Similar agreements eventually spread to lamps and accumulators, bringing even more financial benefits until the 1950s and 1960s when various government acts covering restrictive trade practices put a stop to such agreements. This led the Association to look for other ways of attracting and retaining members and spawned a number of new services. Today's list includes a wide range of advisory and business services as well as benefits and healthcare.

In continually adding to its range of services during these first 100 years the ECA has ensured that it continues to play a vital role in the electrical contracting industry. All the signs are that it will continue to do so for the next 100 years and beyond.